Ser Chester Toppledrake
Chester Toppledrake Born in the 370th year after Aegon's Conquest, Chester grew up in a time of peace. While he heard the rumors of religious fanatics going to war with each other, Chester's village was largely unaffected. He lived on lands belonging to Lord Wagstaff, a minor lord of the Stormlands, but to Chester, he was the most powerful man in the world. Chester's father was a huntsman in the Lord's service and made sure Chester knew the skills of his trade. Chester took to the bow like a born hunter but failed to be able to effectively track the beasts through the woods. Since a huntsman was mostly supposed to track the beast and let the lord and his noble guests do the killing, this meant that Chester would likely not take up his father's trade. This created a small rift between father and son but not one big enough to completely separate them by any means. Instead, Chester's father was able to convince the man-at-arms of the nearby Wagstaff to train Chester to fight with other weapons so he could one day join the household guard. Chester took to many of the weapons over time but still felt more at ease with a bow in his hand. Around the time Chester was eleven, a strange man came to his village asking for shelter. While wary, the village people didn't have the heart to send him away. Eventually, it was discovered that he was one of 'the Smiths.' They were fanatic followers of the Smith, essentially marked for death by others of the Faith. It wasn't long before Lord Wagstaff heard about the man's presence in the village and immediately had him executed. This upset Chester as the man had done nothing wrong other than believe in a certain aspect of the Seven than others did. When his father couldn't ease his worries, Chester decided that the village would not become his home forever. A year later, Chester set off from his village with a pack on his back, his bow in his hand, and eyes on the horizon. Over the next couple of years, Chester traveled the Reach and the Stormlands looking for somewhere to make his home. He found some work in places such as Ashford, Grassy Vale, and Felwood for a time as a member of Lord Felwood's garrison. Always, his father's tutelage and his bow kept him alive. However, none of those places made Chester feel at home so he moved on from Felwood under the guise of night onto better things. Chester continued onwards until he made it to the coast of the Stormlands. The beauty and raw power of the ocean amazed him to the point that he decided wherever he was going to settle down, it would be near the ocean. As Chester traveled along the coast, he eventually came to the great castle of Storm's End standing atop its cliff overlooking the sea. Chester immediately set out for the city. There, he petitioned to join the garrison and was able to make his case after showing off his skill with a bow. The strength he had built up over the years and resulting muscles also helped to convice the officers. Chester ensured he earned his place in the household guard of Storm's End. While he was kept largely on the battlements or atop the gate, each day was a blessing for him. Chester served in the garrison for four years admirably. When the Targaryen's invaded, Chester feared what it would mean for him and his new home, especially since Lord Alyn was off in Essos. While he didn't know the history of the past wars, other members of the guard said that the Dragons always struck the Stormlands first. The smaller castles would fall without much trouble but Storm's End would be a harder-fought prize. Sure enough, a large army under red and black banners soon arrived outside the walls of Storm's End and began to prepare for a siege. When some began to doubt that Lord Alyn would return for them, he came thundering over the horizon with an army of their fellow Stormlanders and crushed the foreign invaders. Chester was relieved to have been saved by his Lord and even more relieved to be out of the dangers of the war once again. When Lord Alyn returned, the war was essentially over with the Targaryen army sent back to Essos. However, only a few days later, a blood-curdling roar split through the sky and a dragon, white scales shimmering like a ghost, came shooting through the sky. The fortress immediately went into action with the weapons built to protect the castle from a siege were turned upwards to protect it from a dragon attack. Chester was placed on one of the higher towers with a ballista of his own. Although it was meant for three men to use, Chester was strong enough to load, pull back, and fire the massive weapon on his own. Along with the entire castle, they began to fight back. Chester's first two shots missed embarressingly. The beast was quick despite its size and it was near impossible to know where it would end up. The next two were both, too ahead and too behind the dragon, but they were closer. So close, the dragon flew up, turned its head towards Chester, and let out a burst of flames towards him. Chester tried to dive out of the way but couldn't avoid all of the flames. An unimaginable amount of pain suddenly wracked through his body. He quickly ripped his jerkin off but the flames had already done enough damage. His skin was bubbling and practically falling off his body. Still, though, the dragon lived, roaring in victory over Chester. No matter how big, though, the dragon was just a beast. Chester had killed beasts all his life. Focusing on his anger rather than his pain, Chester loaded a fifth bolt. Then, Chester waited patiently. He followed the dragon's path back and forth as it sprayed fire on the wooden parts of the castle. Finally, the dragon hesitated over a part of the castle to douse it in flames. Chester didn't hesitate and fired the ballista immediately. He watched as the bolt shot straight into the dragon in between the left wing and its body. He continued watching as the dragon flew around in a mad rage before slamming against the stone walls of the castle and falling to the sea. Still in an unimaginable amount of pain, Chester was found laying down by his ballista, overcome with exhaustion. While the dragon hadn't been confirmed dead, Chester was quickly whisked off to Lord Alyn and presented to him. After he gave the lord a quick report of what happened, Alyn told him to kneel. Chester was confused and his confusion grew as Alyn removed his sword. Then, he realized he was being knighted. Chester swore to each of the knightly vows and to remain in Alyn's service, always protecting him and his family. He rose as Ser Chester Toppledrake, named after how the scars left by the dragon burns looked like misshapen roots coursing down from his left cheek through his torso to his hip. While the scars were proof that Chester faced a dragon and lived, they also were a curse. Not only were the scars painful, the amount of pain always changing, but they were an abomination to look at compared to the muscular body he used to rely on to woo a woman to his bed. Whether for better or for worse, his life was changed. For over ten years, Chester continued to serve as a sworn sword to Alyn and his family. The scars continued to bring a degree of misery to his life but he was able to learn to overcome them enought to use his bow as well as he ever could. While not as fast anymore, since each shot brought a flare of pain, he was even more accurate than in his youth. When the Targaryen's returned, Chester knew he'd be at his lord's side during the conflicts instead of atop a tower. It would be more dangerous but Chester was confident that he'd make sure no danger came to his Lord, even if that danger was a dragon. Timeline ______________________________________________________________ * 370 AC: Chester is born in a village near Wagstaff * 379 AC: Chester is deemed unfit to train to be a huntsman and begins training for the Wagstaff Household Guard * 382 AC: Chester leaves Wagstaff and travels the Stormlands and Reach * 386 AC: Chester joins the Storm's End Household Guard * 390 AC: Chester shoots the bolt that kills Viserion, the White Dragon, after receiving wounds from the dragon's flames. He is knighted shortly afterwards. * 399 AC: Chester is Alyn Baratheon's Sword Sword, following him everywhere as his most loyal servant.